Inside the intimate Melbourne wedding of writer and creative consultant, Sally Tabart

Rain, hail or shine.

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The intimate wedding of Melbourne couple and DJ duo Sally Tabart and Jeremy Barr (aka So Much So Much) was held on a drizzly day in May. Sally, a writer, editor and creative consultant, says she was admittedly “devo” when she first found out about the forecast. “In the end, I couldn’t have been happier with how it all came together.”

The wedding itself was an intimate, 15-person affair at the registry office, followed by lunch at Carlton Wine Room. For round two, Jeremy and Sally brought together 60 friends and family members for a party at the Builders Arms in Fitzroy. Joyful, relaxed and full of love, both events were beautiful – rain, hail or shine. Below, Sally gives us an intimate glimpse into her and Jeremy’s big day(s).

How did you meet your partner?

We met eight years ago through my best friend Zan. Jez had a crush on her, but she had just started dating her now long-term partner. She used to screenshot his hilarious messages to her and send them to me saying, “This guy is perfect for you!”. A couple of years later I was with her at a festival and we bumped into him, and that summer Jez and I started the romance that would eventually lead to us getting together.

We went on an amazing date a couple of weeks before I moved to New York, and while I was away we started off by staying in touch but ended up stopping talking. A year and a half later, when I came back to renew my visa in Melbourne, we reconnected. I realised that I couldn’t risk letting this relationship go again, so I went back to New York for a few months to wrap up my life and moved back to Melbourne straight into Jez’s sharehouse. We’ve been together ever since.

Tell us your engagement story.


We actually didn’t get engaged. To be honest, I’ve never wanted to. I’ve never understood waiting around to be asked to participate in such a big life decision on someone else’s timeline. To me, it’s a decision to be made together. Don’t get me wrong – I LOVE to hear big and beautiful engagement stories!

It just wasn’t for me. It was more like a conversation about the future that just evolved into getting married. 

While there was no engagement ring, Jez and I had matching Drop Rings made by Kieran Jackson from Kieroy. His with cognac diamonds, mine with white diamonds!

What venue did you choose for your wedding, and why?

Initially, we were going to go to New York and elope at City Hall with just the two of us. After going to a few low-key weddings over the summer, we saw the magic in celebrating with friends and family, but every time we wrote a guest list it would blow out to over 100 people. That just wasn’t something either of us wanted.

We ended up deciding to have two separate events a couple of weeks apart: our actual wedding day was very quick and simple at the registry office with immediate family, followed by lunch at Carlton Wine Room, which is somewhere Jez and I have had a lot of special years together over the last eight years.

Our second event was a bigger party with friends in a beautiful upstairs room at The Builders Arms pub in Fitzroy, followed by a house party at our place. We chose The Builders Arms because it is so local and familiar to all of our friends, the food is reliable, and the venue is simple and lovely. And we had the house party at our place so we could BYO and hang out as long as we liked!

How many guests did you have?

We had 15 immediate family and partners at the registry office, and 60 friends at the lunch/party a couple of weeks later.

Where was your dress from, and what was the process of sourcing it like?


I had two dresses custom-made by my dear friend Andria from Honeymoon. The process of designing them was one of the best creative experiences I’ve ever had! 

We based my first dress off a vintage skirt and a bustier top that I already own and love the shape and movement of.

For the party dress, I had this vague, unresolved idea for a halterneck. When I shared this with Andria she pulled out this amazing, shimmery blue silk dupion – I hadn’t planned on necessarily wearing colour, but I fell in love when I saw this fabric! Because I was going for a more classic, white wedding look at the registry office, we thought it would be fun to lean into the party vibe for the second dress.

From there Andria and I spent a couple of months scheming and doing fittings, it was so much fun! It was her idea to do the massive sheer bow on the halter dress, and to link the wedding looks together with a scattering of signature Honeymoon white flowers on both dresses.

It was honestly such a wonderful, easy, joyful and exciting process with Andria! I was absolutely in love with both of the dresses, and she could not have been more generous, creative and understanding. 

Aside from being so in love with Jez, working with Andria was my favourite part of the wedding.

What about the groom?


Jez wore Honeymoon as well! Andria and I picked out the dark chocolate brown fabric together and it turned out so well. I actually realised the other day that his suit pants fit me perfectly which I’m thrilled about. 

He paired the brown suit with a delicate brooch that belonged to his great-grandmother.

In terms of beauty, tell us about the look you went for on the day, and what your inspiration for it was. Did you do your own makeup or use a makeup artist?

I am IN LOVE with the girl who did my makeup, her name is Grace Hudson – who I originally met through Fashion Journal Editor Cait! It was so good to start my wedding days with Grace! 

For the first look, I wanted to go very classic. It was about the perfect skin, neutral tones, and Grace overlined my lips which I’ve never had done before but was obsessed with.

The second look was all about having FUN, so for makeup, we went for a piece-y, glittery silver eye.

 My beloved hairdresser Ginger, who I’ve been seeing for years, did my hair on both occasions. We went for a classic low bun with a massive silky scrunchie on the registry office day, and a prom queen/party princess curly, wavy updo for the day at the Builders. 

It was nice to just be zipping around to see friends on the morning of the events – it made me feel more normal and relaxed.

How about your shoes and accessories?

I’m all about a fab accessory. I can’t go refined! 

I bought two adorable beaded bags from Melbourne-based label The Hold – one for each look. I think I’ll have those bags forever! 

I found a really cute pair of cream heels with sparkly butterflies on them a couple of weeks before the wedding on The Iconic, which were a bit ridiculous but very me. It just made the classic wedding look a bit more fun!

And I already owned a pair of baby blue vintage Manolo Blahnik kitten heels with little flowers on them which happened to match perfectly with the blue dress – meant to be! I wore a pair of clear Vermeer Studio dangly earrings that I bought from Daily Good

.

I was devo when I found out it was going to be raining on our wedding day, but I ended up getting a simple knit bolero from Etsy and a gorgeous Marle trenchcoat from Before March the day before. In the end, I couldn’t have been happier with how it all came together. I think all the accessories really made the looks!

What kind of food did you have on the day?

We just had the food from the venue, which is why we picked them! We got a passionfruit sponge cake from Greens Refectory. It’s fun to be able to go and get a slice of wedding cake whenever we want. 

We just ordered a bunch of pizzas from Takeaway Pizza in Preston for our house party!

How much did you spend on your wedding?

All up we spent around $24,000 on both events. The majority of this cost was spent on food and alcohol at the venues – which came to about 15k across both events – and the rest was taken up by photography, outfits, table stuff and alcohol for the party… it adds up quickly!

Who else contributed to your wedding?

It was a real family affair! 

My friends Gemma Leslie and Annie Portelli made our wedding invites, and another good friend Gina from Georgie Boy made my bouquet and did flowers at the party. 

I collected vintage glassware from Etsy, borrowed some pieces from Ben at Ma House for decorations, and my bestie Zan (the one who introduced Jez and I!) handmade these little oyster and scallop shell dishes.

My friend Clem (Some Things I Like To Cook) was able to style this all into beautiful table settings. Nick Saw from Brekstacy DJd at the party, and of course, our wonderful photographer Jess Grilli from Sentient Studio was so generous with her time and efforts on both days. 

Rebeca Valls, an incredible photographer and videographer who was working with Jess on the day, made a little video for us. We will treasure these forever!